11. DANCE WITH EVERYONE

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Welcome to Episode 11 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!

In the latest episode, Andres talks about how you should Dance With Everyone! It’s a position of particular passion for Andres. He even speaks of how he’d like others to get in touch and bring their perspective.

Andres talks about how students at a higher level just doesn’t want to work with a less experienced student, believing that they are ‘better’ than newer dancers. Instructors need to be stern with these kinds of dancers, and drive home that though they are progressing, they are also still students. It’s important not to let their egos get the better of them as they progress, so that they don’t look down on other dancers.

There is the principle of ten thousand hours of mastery. It takes ten thousand hours of doing something before you can become a master: three hours a day every day for a little under a decade. Andres talks about how once you reach mastery, you understand the importance of what you can learn from beginners that more experienced dancers cannot give you, once they are more contained by the rules of dance.

There are three major benefits to dancing with less experienced dancers. The first is the experience of dancing with a beginner in and of itself. Being able to connect with a human being, regardless of skill level, creates a unique dance scenario that can never be recaptured. By denying dances with newer dancers is cheating yourself as well as the other dancer. Keep in mind, every dancer wants to grow and be challenged. They can only do that by dancing with more experienced dancers, and it is unfair to deny them the ability to improve their craft.

The second is responsibility. As an experienced dancer, you have a responsibility to a dance. If you’re blaming others for the success of your dance, there’s something you’re missing. There are roots you’re missing, and by dancing with beginners you can capture those basics again, instead of assuming that it’s someone else’s fault. Andres challenges people to have the mindset of a dance with a newer dancer as a challenge, to see how much you can contribute to the dance!

The final reason is perspective. There is always a perspective to be gained with dealing with other people. Each dance with a dancer with flaws can add perspective and be a learning experience. By forcing yourself to always grow your perspective, you can expand your dancing ability, and expand the ways that you can have fun. Gaining perspective is always valuable, not just in dance, but in all things.

“You realize in your life that everything that can go wrong goes wrong, and we have the choice to either get frustrated about it, or we can take advantage from it and we can grow.”

Andres also lets you know about his live episodes and how to get in them. Simply text ‘JOIN’ to 69922 to be able to see his live episodes with guests.